Dazed and confused

I've been keeping myself quite busy over the last couple of weeks, trying to find the perfect nursery for Y.  Sounds simple enough right?  WRONG!  Who knew there were so many things to consider?  It's quite scary. I feel like each factor may influence my kid for the rest of his life!!  Ok, I might be overreacting just a tad, but I do believe this will lay the foundation for his attitude towards learning, his discipline and help build his social skills. So actually, I was right... it IS the most important decision EVER! 


Luckily, Dubai offers a great choice.  But with that great choice comes confusion.  Which type of curriculum? How big or how small? What ratio of adult to child is OK? How cool are their play areas? (BTW some are awesome, I would imagine myself going nuts in those play areas while the headmistress is taking me on the tour). How flexible are their policies? What kind of events and extracurricular activities do they have? How structured are the days? What methods of discipline do they believe in? How much parent involvement do they encourage? How clean and safe is the place? Does my one year old even give a 'poo' about any of this? 


One thing that definitely helped was the ludicrous tuition of some of these places, which meant they were instantly out of the question.  Not only because we would have to forgo the kid's college savings just for his first year but because of the principal!  Why should we pay $10,000 a year for a child to spend 4 hours a day, 4 times a week playing with a bunch of toys?!!?  I'm not sure if nurseries in other cities are as insane or if this is yet another Dubai-ian extravagance. 


Anyway, that's what I've been up to, nursery shopping - and I'm totally lost.  I really hope I wont suffer like this with every decision to come.  Yikes.    

Anyone still have football fever?

I came across these while reading the very cool Pomegranate and Patchouli and really wanted to share!  These photos were taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair.  Honestly, I thought this world cup was rather boring for some reason, but it REALLY depends which way you look at it I guess ;)  

Now while I'm at it, might as well put these up.  I don't even like Cristiano Ronaldo (too dramatic) but I can't ignore his ummm... physique.  This is the new Emporio Armani campaign. 

Images: Vanity Fair, Huffington Post

Big girls don't cry?

I turned 32 yesterday. Ukh.  I remembered a funny thing that happened a few weeks ago at the play area I've been taking my son to.  Part of the play area is only for kids up to the age of 3. This little girl who was older wanted to play in that area, but wasn't allowed to.  She got very upset and started crying and throwing a fit.  Her mom was calmly trying to make her feel better, so she cheerfully tells her "sweetie you can't play here because you are now a biiiigggg girl!" The girl's response (in between sobs) was "BUT I DON'T WANNA BE A BIG GIRL!!".  I started laughing and the mother gave me a death look.  I apologized and just said that I thought that was very cute. It was also something that I totally related to.  Sigh... 

Image: via kellymccaleb@tumblr

Gym Bunny?

I was just at the gym running on the treadmill, bored out of my mind, until I saw this poster on the wall.

  

I was totally amused with this ad for Fila sports clothing.  Being an ex ad person, I would love to know which Fila marketers approved this image, and what they could've possibly thought it was doing for the brand and who exactly they were targeting.  Also, I don't have implants or anything, but I'm pretty sure no woman in her right mind would go to the gym with no 'support', especially if the breasts in question are that size.  I'm assuming this chick here is meant to be working out at a gym right?  Must be a freezing where the poor girl is.
Oh and what made it funnier was that I showed it to my husband thinking he would agree that it's absurd and instead he couldn't see why I thought it was worth blogging about.  Silly me.

I wanna get away

Summers in Dubai are not very pleasant.  The hot, humid, sticky days drag on and on, with no end in sight.  You forget what it's like to step outside and want to take a deep breath of fresh air. The sun is out, but the skies are this murky, hazy shade of light grey.  That's if you even bother to go outdoors to see the sky in the first place.  If I'm not making myself clear, I wanna get out of here, pronto.  I have to wait another month for my next holiday, so I guess I will let my mind do the wandering for now.   Here are some of the places I wish I could teleport to.

North Island - Seychelles. Seriously don't you just want to be reading a book on that couch?

Amalfi Coast - Italy. Cruising on a Vespa perhaps.

This wouldn't be a real list without my favorite city included - London, anytime.

The Jalousie Plantation - Saint Lucia. One Pina Colada please!

Hale Malia Villa, Phuket - Thailand.  Yes I don't mind going to Phuket again right now.

Be Tulum Hotel, Tulum - Mexico. I would love my patio to look like this.

Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur - California.  Amazing view and amazing architecture.

View from Villa Sassolini, Tuscany - Italy.  I'd love to take a cooking class in Tuscany.

Amangiri, Canyon Point - Utah.  Talk about total escape.

Where would you like to go today?

Images: North Island, Conde Nast Traveller, Photograph London, Hip Hotels, Luxury Retreats, Design Hotels, Post Ranch Inn, Villa Sassolini, Aman Resorts

Some help for the high chair

Yousef is now 11 months old, and we're both now trying to move on from boring purees and mashed food.  In a way, it's a relief to know that I can now count him in for most of what I cook at home, but it's also been a bit confusing.  See I normally cook (adult food) 3 or 4 times a week, and it's not necessarily baby friendly.  Now I suddenly need to have fresh, healthy dishes prepared almost everyday.  Of course I will be freezing some portions or making one off sandwiches for the little one too...  So for the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to get creative with what I can make for Y, I've been asking friends, looking through my old recipes and checking out what's online.  That's when I found Weelicious.  This is a blog by a culinary school grad, used to be a model, mom of two.  It's super helpful!  I love it because the recipes are very simple and quick, and can be appreciated by the whole family.  So if you find yourself in my situation, not knowing what to feed your little one, or your partner even... check this site out.


Here are images of some of the recipes I can't wait to try.

Noodle Pancakes

Roast Vegetable Pasta Sauce

Deviled Egg "Chicks"

Yum!!

Motivation Booster

While I'm totally on Team Jolie, I must say Jennifer Aniston really wow'd me in this ad. She's had an amazing body since Season 4 or 5 of Friends, and now at 41, she's still as hot.   I've been doing very well with my Pilates and this is just the motivation I need to increase the cardio and eat less!  Gonna stick this pic on my fridge now.